Hunting the black bird
by MaryTheMelancholyMisanthrope
Summary: "that bird just needs some love, and if'n ya treat it right, it'll have reason ta love ya tons, birds are very loyal. The more I think of it, the more I think that there bird is for you." Crowley/OC
1. Chapter one as she lives and breathes

_**1984, A Remote Cabin in Pennsylvania**_

Aaron sat outside his parent's room watching his brothers play, when the first scream came.

The twins became frightened but he, being Aaron, the big brother wasn't, he took his brothers outside when the screaming became too much for the boys to bear.

When the sun had gone down, and the screaming had stopped, Aaron took his brothers back in to see their new baby sister.

She was a small, red, loud bundle of blankets that sat on their mother's chest while the boys gathered around to look at her. Her eyes were blue and green, and her hair was just like daddy's, sticking up red like their home made broom. She shook her fists and demanded attention, but Aaron knew this, because from the day she was born, Aaron knew everything she wanted, and wanted to _give_ everything to her.

_**1988, Belington Virginia**_

Aaron looked for his sister, she wasn't in the hotel room with mother, and she wasn't training with daddy. He found her sitting in the trees near the hotel lobby, chasing the birds.

"Marie what are you doing out here? We're sos'posed to be with daddy getting ready!" Aaron said pointing to their hotel room door.

She stomped her little feet, "Big brother! The birds keep running away! Ah' just wanna hold one!"

their daddy walked out to see what all the ruckus was about, "lil'Marie wat you do'in girl?"

"Daddy, she just try'in ta catch one! Ain't do'in no harm", Aaron said to his father, pointing at marie. Their daddy smiled, "lookie here missy, if'in you can catch one'a them birds, you can keep it!" Marie lite up, and continued chasing her birds with even more fervor.

Eventually she gave up, none of the birds sit still long enough to for her to catch, except a limping black bird. She didn't want the black bird, because it was broken and mean looking. When she walked in, her daddy stopped cleaning his shot gun and looked up. "Marie, where's your bird?" he asked quietly.

She slumped next to his feet, "I can't catch one, daddy! They're too fast!" He looked out the window, "What about that black one? Reckon even a slowpolk like you could catch _him_." She shook her head, "it's broken daddy! I don't want a broken one!"

Her daddy shook his head, taking her back outside, "baby girl, think of it like this. That bird would be really easy ta catch right? Well what if a horrible hungry cat came round? That there bird would be doomed, _but_ if'n ya saved it first, it'd live!"

Marie scrunched up her nose, "but daddy, it's mean!" Again he pointed to the bird, "that bird just needs some love, and if'n ya treat it right, it'll have reason ta love ya tons, birds are very loyal. The more I think of it, the more I think that there bird is for you."

Marie thought about it for a while, watching the bird hop around hopelessly, before going back into the hotel room. After a few minutes she came back out with a pair of oven mitts and her brother Gabe's tiny football helmet.

She spent the next twenty minutes trying to catch that black bird, and eventually did. Clutching it in her tiny hands, the four and a half year old Marie wilder carried that bird into the hotel, the bird silent.

_**Druid ridge cemetery, Maryland 1992.**_

"Marie! Get out of here, There are too meny!" Astrid wilder screamed to her youngest child, trying to fight off the wraiths persueing the two women. "Momma, I ain't leave'n you!" marie said trying to drag her mother after her. Her mother shoved her daughter away, "you have to Marie! We aren't both going to die here." Her mother tackled a wraith to the ground, immediately being swarmed by them. Marie tried to get at her only to be thrown over her brother's shoulder, and carried to the car.

Later that night, the wilder children sat quietly in reverence of their fallen mother, while their father salted and burned her body. Marie blamed herself, and began sobbing hysterically. Her black crow, Ichabod came to stand on her shoulder, picking at her hair in his concerned way. She stopped momentarily, to pat his head and place him on her lap.

_**Saint Lucas hospice, Philadelphia 2008**_

Aaron Sat in the waiting room with Marie, waiting for the nurse to take them back to their father's room. The elderly woman appeared in the door way, motioning for them to follow her to the coma section. They followed silently,  
Marie carrying her bird on her shoulder, Ichabod looking very old, and very tired, drooping. They stopped at Jarrett wilder's room, the nurse excusing herself while they sat with their father. Marie told him about the hunts they'd been on recently, and reminiscing about the good old days, when banshee's stayed in Scotland and Asian vampires stayed in Asia.

Aaron sat quietly while she spoke, watching the machines attached to their father hum and whirl, pumping air and medicine into his body. After an hour or so, they stood to leave, and Marie told their father good bye. Walking back to the lobby, Marie asked the nurse, "Is there any hope of him waking up? I've seen on TV how people say-"

"Miss there is always hope, but there is little possibility." The nurse replied, quietly.

_**Singer auto parts, 2009**_

Marie pulled up in front of bobby's house, turning past the Impala parked out front. She turned the car off, and got out of the jeep quietly. She took her sunglasses off and looked at the decrepit house in front on her, smiling she readjusted her bandanna .

Dean and Sam Winchester walked right past her, talking ardently about something . she shook her head, heading into the house, hearing something from the basement, knowing better than to barge right in knocked. At first there was nothing then bobby's voice called up, "who's there?"

She sighed, "hey bobby, it's Marie wilder! Ya called about some help with something?"

There was the sound of someone being threatened, then bobby called up, "Come on down Marie, maybe you can help me with this idgit, watch the last step I've been meaning 'ta fix it." Marie made her way down the steps, stepping over the last one, and turned the corner; coming to face Bobby and a demon trapped in a devil's trap.

She raised her brow in a bored way, checking out the demon. "**Nice** meatsuit, _Armani_? Very nice." She said appraisingly. The demon sneered, "sod off cow, we're busy here." She smiled, turning to bobby, "Yes?"

Bobby sighed, motioning to the demon, "I'm trying ta get my soul back from this crossroads demon here, anything Ya can do for it?"

Marie thought for a moment, before the demon spoke up again.

"I'll save you the recap. In fact I'll do the short hand for you.

'I want my soul back idgit.'

'Fraid not'.

'But I'm surly and I got a beard. Gimme.'

Blah, blah, blah.

Homespun insult.

Witty retort from yours truly-

The bottom line is you get bubkis. Are we done?"

Marie couldn't help chuckling, "to quote yourself, boy-o; 'fraid not." She walked around the devil's trap casually, to lean against the wall behind him.

"You see from what bobby told me over the phone, you said you'd give him his soul back, and whether he waits ten years or not, he's getting his soul back and going to heaven, and seeing as you got his soul in a deal, you have no use for it." She leaned against the stair way, arms crossed and looking at the demon.

" While you having it doesn't really have any effect on bobby here, you having it doesn't give you any power over it either. So you could stop being interrupted all the time with nothing to show for it, or you can go ahead and give him his soul back and get singer here, out of your hair."

The demon seemed to think about this for a moment, considering what she had to say. In the end he shook his head, frowning at her, "Sorry luv, but not going to happen, his soul is my insurance policy against those Winchester boys. I think I'll be holding onto it for a _little_ while longer." The demon disappeared, leaving the devil's trap with ease.

Marie stumbled back in surprise, "How the hell did he do that? I've never met a demon able to just, _**leave**_ a devils trap all whilly nilly like that!" Bobby grumbled something unintelligible, Marie sent him a hard look. Sighing exasperatedly, he said "He's Lucifer's replacement, as king of hell."

She blinked, well that explained it. She helped bobby clean up, and went out to get him something for dinner, the guy had been through the ringer trying to get his soul back and seeing as the Winchesters were _too busy_, she was going to help him any way she could.

_**Three weeks later, somewhere in the country side.**_

It hadn't been easy hunting down the newly instated king of hell, she used up almost all of her contacts in hell, even asking the Winchesters. Two people she tried to steer clear of, as Apocalypses tended to stick to the brothers like gum on the bottom of one's shoe.

She pulled up just outside a devil's ward, pulling out a satchel full of dried powdered demon's blood, and scrunching up her nose dumped it all over herself. She shook of the excess, and sneezed. Ichabod looked out the passenger side window, tapping to be let out.

"Not this time Ichaboo, I have to be all about stealth today." She said to the overly protective crow.

She checked to make sure she had everything;

One machete? Check.

Two customized .45's? check.

Holy salt water? Check.

Shotgun with salted buck shot? Check.

Various talismans? Check.

Angry king of hell? Check.

Wait, what? Oh, shit!

There stood Crowley, fuming and red faced, three feet away from her.

This would be interesting.

"Morning' majesty." She said nervously, hand inching towards the .45 in tucked in the back of her pants.

"don't bother, you won't live long enough to shoot it." Oh, bugger. "What if I said I come in peace?"

His eyes narrowed, "Then you would be lying. I'm not stupid, you just reached for your gun!"

I rolled my eyes, "hello! You scared me!"

He raised his brow, then smirked. That _Cannot _be good!

He motioned towards his manor, beyond the treeline.

"Then by all means! I can't wait to see what is so bloody important, that you would try to infiltrate the safest demon nest in creation, alone!"

I lowered my hand from my .45, and motioned for him to continue.

I do not own supernatural, or any of the characters.

I only borrow them, occasionally.


	2. Chapter two  Love lost between hunters

I don't own supernatural, otherwise Gabriel would still be alive and laughing.

Instead of making Pepsi max commercials

Chapter two~ **_Love lost between hunters_**.

* * *

~.~.~

Marie sat on a love seat in Crowley's ….parlor? Drawing room? She didn't really care, but she was trying to distract herself from the fact that she was about to have a sit-down with the king of hell. Aaron was going to kill her for taking a risk like this.

Crowley was at the wet bar pouring himself a drink, "So what brings the infamous Marie wilder to my humble abode? I can only assume it has something to do with bobby singer's soul." He turned and sat across from her, in an ornately designed arm chair, and drank his liquor smirking.

She simply stared at him, "There must be some other way to insure the Winchesters don't, I don't know, do their Winchester thing." He raised his brow, and smirked. "Do I sense a bit of love lost between you and the Winchesters? The golden boys, saviors of humanity several times over?"

Marie sighed, "No, They're cool, I guess. They're really good friends with my brothers, but they just aren't my kind of people." She eyed his drink a little enviously, it had been a while since she had drunken anything as quality as what she could smell from the demon's glass.

He eyed her curiously, "Not your kind of people? What kind of people are they exactly?" he was trying to change the subject she could tell, but she would play along; for now, anyway. She pretended to examine her gun,

"They spend too much time playing around with the higher powers, no regard for the consequences that don't involve them. Like the hundreds of demons they released when they opened that devil's gate. Those renegades had me and my brothers working our asses off for months." She stood angrily, and started to pace behind the love seat.

"And as if that wasn't enough! Then I find out that those were responsible for those seals starting to open! Bobby had us running around helping with those too! But, hell if it did anything, that devil guy still managed to worm his way out of the pit!"

She suddenly stopped and faced Crowley who was enjoying the show of the huntress's fit, and leveled him with a stare, "but then of-course the morons get tangled up with _**you**_! I'd think the idiots would have enough sense not to team up with a- a freaking _Demon_! But, **noo**! Not the _Winchesters_, no! They have to go around breaking _all kinds_ of freaking taboos!" she practically yelled the last sentence.

She huffed and puffed, before sitting back down and sticking her head in her hands, "They ended up getting a good friend of mine killed in the process of hunting down Lucifer."

Crowley looked at her strangely, before getting up and pouring himself another drink. he poured her one too, she was no doubt quite parched after her little tirade. "Who, may I ask was this friend of yours?"

she looked at him again, "His name was Loki-I mean Gabriel. Apparently, he wasn't a pagan like I thought, but an archangel. _**Anyway**_, he died facing down his own brother, so that those two could escape with his ex-girlfriend."

Crowley briefly remembered the boys telling him about gabriel at one point. He sat back down and set her drink in front of her, "Ah, yes…. Well, All's fair in love and war, luv; your friend would have been caught up in all this rot eventually." She lifted her head from her hands to look at him, "ya know, I would have thought that bobby would be the smart one in their situation, but then he goes and 'pawns' his soul off to you!" she said apparently pretending to not of heard his comment.

She picked her drink up and took an angry sip-If it's _possible_ to take an '_**angry**_' sip- and motions towards him, "And then after all this shit is over with, you go back on the deal! Apparently idiocy is contagious, because bobby sure as hell didn't see that coming for some reason! And of-course, Sam and Dean are too busy with whatever the hell they're doing to lend ol'singer a hand, so _**I**_ have to!"

She slumped back in her seat, sipping her drink again glaring at Crowley; who in turn smirked and took a drawl of his own drink. "Which, I take it brings us back to square one. You know, I think there would be a lot less killing if demons and hunters just sat down and talked like this."

Marie raised a brow, "yeah, well I'm sure there would be even less killing if demons stopped, I don't know…Killing folks?"

Crowley chuckled, "I suppose you have me there pet, but why don't we talk about the matter at hand; Robert singer's soul. I don't suppose you're willing to trade your own in exchange?"

Marie shook her head solemnly, "Bobby may be family, but I'm no Winchester, there are other ways around this situation." Crowley smirked, "finally, a hunter with some common sense. Okay, what are you offering?" Again Marie shook her head, "I was thinking more along the lines of, you tell me an estimate and we haggle; I don't really know what I have that you want aside from the obvious."

Crowley had to admit, the woman knew how to properly negotiate in a situation in which she had no control. Crowley smirked. "Well, I expected to be confronted eventually, only I thought it would be by the _Winchesters_ quite frankly. So lucky for you, I already know what I want; I'm looking for some very specific information, from some very special people."

He stood and walked around the loveseat, and leaned down over the back and spoke into her ear,

"_**Alphas**_."

Marie froze, surprise clear on her face; Alphas? Those were not creatures to take lightly.

She narrowed her eyes and turned her head to look at him, "And I take it you want me to find them for you." He straightened, smirking and putting his empty glass on the wooden counter behind the couch.

"You catch on much quicker than the boys, my dear. They've been out looking for something for months, and haven't even _considered_ that I might have it. You know, If you wanted you could save them a lot of trouble-" she interrupted him,

"**No**. those boys got themselves in whatever mess that is, and I'm not interested in doing them a favor they'll forget about once I need their help, just ...No."

Crowley shrugged, "It was worth a try. Anyway, do we have a deal?"

She thought for a moment, before looking him over. "What exactly would I be getting myself into? I'm not ignoring any small print, I want specifics." Crowley came around the love seat, once again sitting across from her, and steepled his fingers;

"I want you to hunt down, and bring me _No Less than_ eight Alphas. I'll feed you any leads I can, even lending out the occasional demon to help you. I have a few that need to be taught some respect, and then after you have delivered them all, I will give Bobby singer his soul back. Intact, same as I found it."

She sat up and thought, "and I f I die trying to find your beasties? What then?" Crowley rolled his eyes, "You won't die, if it makes you feel better, I'll make you near invincible 'till the job is done. Save's me the trouble of finding _someone else_ to do the job."

Marie nodded, taking a drawl of her drink "okay, I'll take that deal. So what do we do? Shake hands or something?" Crowley smirked at her inexperience, "No luv, we seal it with a _Kiss_."

Marie choked on the expensive liquor, and a bit dribbled down her shirt. "I have to _**Kiss**_ you? You demons are _sneaky_ lil'sonsabitches!" Crowley stood chuckling, finding her reaction mildly endearing. "There is no denying that, pet. Now hurry up I don't have all day."

Marie stood, looking at him awkwardly while moving around the table to stand in front of him. He looked at her smugly, before reaching behind her neck, and bringing her mouth down to meet his own. Marie briefly wondered whether she was expected to kiss back, when she felt his tongue press against her bottom lip demanding entrance; shutting her eyes and hoping he didn't taste like sulfur, she opened her mouth.

~.~.~.~

Well there you go, ladies and gentlemen; chapter two.

Now, I'm sure this is where I'm supposed to beg and plead and attempt to bribe you with non-existent cookies, but honestly, I don't care if you review. I'll admit, It would be pleasant; but I not necessary. I'm writing this story for me, because I think that there have to be at least a couple normal people as hunters; well, that am I'm shamelessly in lust with Crowley, but don't expect any smut. I'm not good at writing it, and unless any of you want to take a whack at helping, the 'M' will have to be for language. Flames will be used to tickle Lucifer.


End file.
